Garment-supporter



A. H. HOLMES.-

GARMEN SUPPORTER.

APPLlcArlou man AuG.25,v192o.

1,389,304. PntedAug. 30,1921.

A. Af, e/WWWM UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE.

ALBERT H. HOLMES, OF' NATICK, MASSACHUSETTS.

GARMENT-SUPPORTER.

To all whom t concern.'

Be it known that I, ALBERT H. HOLMES,

i a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Natick, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Garment-Supporters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for de tachably connecting apparel parts, such as stocking or hose legs, and hereinafter called supported parts, with supporting parts above the supported parts, to hold the latter ina smooth condition, the supporting parts being usually either ydrawer legs, or straps depending from corsets, or otherwise supported on the wearers body.

Theobject of the invention is to provide a simple and relativelyinexpensive device, adapted to be quickly and conveniently engaged with, and detached from the supporting and supported parts, and to be maintained in secure gripping engagement with said parts. y

The invention is embodied in the improved supporter hereinafter described and claimed.

0f the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification,-

Figure 1 is a side view of a supporter embodying the invention.

Fig. 2fis a section on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the hereinafter described tongues swung outn ward from the body.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1,V showing the supporter engaged with a supporting part and with a supported part.

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing the supporter provided with tongue-confining bands. y

. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one'of the bands. v. f y

Fig. 8 is a side view, showing the fastener bodyrprovided with reinforcing means.

Fig. 9 is a section on line 9-9 of Fig.

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 8, showing a different form of reinforcing means.

Fig. 11 is a section on line 11--11 of Fig. 10.

VThe same reference characters indicate the same parts in all of the figures.

Referring first to Figs. 1 lto 6, inclusive,

.12 represents a relatively thick oblong body,

which is a strip of compressible material,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led August 25, 1920.

preferably sole leather.

Patented Aug.

30, 1921. serial No. 405,814.

y In stating that the body is relatively thick, my meaning is that the body is considerably thicker than sheet metal usually employed to form garment supporters, which include flexible` sheet metal tongues. Ifn opposite end portions of the body are openings formed to receive a portion of a supporting part 13, such as a drawers leg, or a strap depending from corsets, and a portion of a supported part- 14, such as a stocking or hose leg.

Said openings are cutting angular slits 15 through the body, as shown by Fig. 1, the slits being separated preferably formed by i y of the body, which constitutes a uniting connection between the end portions of the body and a hinge connection between the body and the tongues hereinafter described.

l The body is provided with inwardly fac` ing grippmg surfaces 16 at its opposite end portions, said faces being compressible and formed by the operation of cutting the slits 15, and their width being equal to the thickness of the strip.

The slit-cutting operation defines two flxible tongues 17 which are integral with the uncut portion 12a, and are adapted to swing into and out of the body openings de ned by the slits 15. The free ends of the tongues 17, also formed by the slit-cutting operation, form outwardly facing compressible gripping'surfaces 18, adapted to cooperate with the bodyfaces 16 in gripping the parts 18 and 14, as shown by Figs. 4 and 5.

The tongues 17 are integral with the uncut portion 12a of the body, and are therefore flexibly connected with the body, So that they may be located within ther body,

as shown by Fig. 2, or may be swung outwardly therefrom,'as shown by Fig. 8. f y

When the tongues are swung outward, as shown by F igf, openings are formed` in rwhich portionsr of the parts 13 and 14 may be inserted, said parts being engaged with the tongues, as indicated by Figs. 4 and 5, and securely gripped between the faces 16 and 18 when the tongues are swung inward. To positively confine the tongues 17 iii their gripping position, I provide metal bands 21, which are adapted to slide on the body and tongues, as indicated by full and dotted lines in Fig. 6. Then the bands are moved to the full line position, they prevent outward swinging of the tongues 17 iii) I have found that when the supporter is made from a strip of sole leather, it is adapted to securely grip the parts 13 and 14, the inherent stiffness of the leather being sufficient to enable the gripping surfaces 16 to withstand the pressure exerted thereon when the supporter is in use.

The supporter may be madev of a relatively thick strip or piece of less inherently stiff material than sole leather, such as felt, in which case it is desirable to provide reinforcing means to enable the-gripping surfaces 16 to withstand the pressure exerted thereon.

Figs. 8 and 9 show a body and tongues which may be made of a strip of felt, and is provided with reinforcing means, embodied in a marginal frame or mat 2B, bearing on the entire margin of the body and on the marginal portions of opposite sides of the body. v

Figs. 10 and 11 show the body provided with reinforcing means embodied in metal strips 24, secured by rivets 25 to Opposite sides of the body at the end portions thereof.

In each case the portions of the body on which the surfaces 16 are formed, are prevented from yielding bodily, or being bowed outward, by pressure of the garment parts 1a against the surfaces 16. The compressibility of the surfaces 16 is, therefore. limited to that required to causethem to frictionally engage the garment parts.-

'Ihe bands 21 are provided with. spurs 28 adapted to engage the tongues 17 and prevent the bands Vfrom slipping. The teeth are formed on the inner edges of the bands and may be bent inward from the plane of their outer sides, so that their points will engage the tongues 17 andprevent movement of the bands from the positions shown by full lines to the positions shown by dotted lines in Fig. G. The compressibility of the material of which the tongues are formed, permits the disengagement of the tongues from the spurs by inward pressure on the tongues, when it is desirable to move the bands to the dotted lines positions.

The compressibility of the material of the body A12 permits the displacement of the gripping surfaces 1G and 18 in opposite directions, by the compression of the material caused by the garment parts interposed between the said surfaces, the said displaced surfaces being caused to grip said parts by the effort of the compressed'material to expand.. y

The angular slits 15 dene'three-sided openings in the body 12. rI`he gripping surfaces 16 and 1S formed by the transverse portions of said slits are transverser gripping Surfaces. The outer sides of the longitudinal portions of the slits form longitudinal inwardly facing gripping vsurfaces extending lengthwise of the body and the surfaces, as indicatedby inner sides of said slit portions form longitudinal outwardly facing gripping surfaces, extending lengthwise of the body and constituting. the longitudinal edges of the tongues. Portions of the garment parts are interposed between said transverse gripping surfaces, and other portions are interposed between they longitudinal gripping Figs. 4 and 5. The gripping surfaces are allk displaceable by compression ofthe material of the body, and are caused to grip the interposedparts by the effort of the compressed material to expand. rFhe garment parts are therefore thusV gripped not only by the transverse gripping surfaces 16 and 18, but also by the longitudinal gripping surfaces, so that each of the garment parts is gripped along three lines, as indicated by Fig. 4.

The compressibility of the material of the body causes said transverse and longitudinal gripping surfaces to yieldingly conform to folds andportions of varying thickness of the gripped garment parts, so that there is no liability of' cutting said parts, as would be the case if the gripping surfaces were relatively narrow and were formed on a sheet metal fastener body.

I claim:

1. A garment supporter composed of a relatively thick oblong body of compressible material having angular slits cut through portions thereof, and defining three sided body, openings, the vouter sides Aof said slits forming inwardly facing transverse gripping surfaces atopposite end portions of the body, and longitudinal inwardly facinor gripping surfaces extending lengthwise of the body, the inner sides ofthe slits defining three sided tongues having ltransverseout- 105 wardly facinggripping. surfaces and longitudinal outwardly facing gripping surfaces extending lengthwise of the body; saidslits being separated from each otherby an uncut portion of the body, each ofsaidgrip- 110 ping surfaces being displaceable bythe compression of the material of the body and tongues by garment parts interposed, between the gripping surfaces, and caused to grip said parts the effort ofthe compressed material to expand, the arrangement being suehthat the .garment parts are thus grasped, not only bythe transverse gripping surfaces, but also by the longitudinal gripping surfaces, the compressibility of the material of the body Veausinggsaid gripping surfaces to conform to the` gripped garment parts, without liability of 'cutting the same.

2. A garment supporter composed of a relatively thick oblong body offlexible compressible material, having angular slitscut through portions ofthe'body, and forming inwardly facing gripping surfaces, openings at opposite end portions of the body,

and iexible integral tongues connected to tongue-conining bands slidable on the body the body at their inner ends, and having and tongues, and adapted to conne the free outer ends forming outwardly facing tongues in gripping position, said bands l@ gripping surfaces adapted to swing into and being provided with tongue-engaging spurs.

5 out of said openings, and ooperate with the In testimony whereof I have affixed my inwardly facing gripping surfaces, in gripsignature. ping parts inserted in said openings; and ALBERT H. HOLMES. 

